Flight Safety Information
February 11, 2011 - No. 032
In This Issue
NTSB SENDING TEAM TO ASSIST IRELAND IN METROLINER INVESTIGATION
Judge closes cases related to Comair crash in Ky
Nigerian AIB signs $5m contract for accident investigation laboratory
Grounding unlikely for Bombardiers
Man tried to smuggle dozens of rare creatures in suitcases
Investigations into the Cork airport crash under way
NASA's Bolden Touts Commercial Space at FAA Space Commercialization
Conference
ERAU Remembers Gen. William Spruance
Qantas to launch study into algae-based fuel
Boeing boss green-lights all-new next generation narrowbody
NTSB SENDING TEAM TO ASSIST IRELAND IN METROLINER
INVESTIGATION
The National Transportation Safety Board is sending three
investigators to assist the Government of Ireland as it
investigates the crash of an airliner this morning.
At about 9:45 a.m. local time today, a Swearingen SA-227
Metroliner (Spanish registration EC-ITP), operated by
Flightline/Manx2 Air as flight 7100 from Belfast, Northern
Ireland, crashed after attempting a landing at Cork Airport,
Cork, Ireland. Twelve people were aboard the aircraft, and
there are reports of both fatalities and survivors.
NTSB senior air safety investigator Dan Bower has been
designated the U.S. Accredited Representative and is being
assisted by an NTSB systems investigator and an NTSB
operations investigator. A Federal Aviation Administration
investigator is also joining the team.
Information about the progress of the investigation will be
released by the Air Accident Investigation Unit of Ireland,
+353 (0) 1-604-1293.
###
NTSB Media Contact: Peter Knudson
peter.knudson@ntsb.gov
(202) 314-6100
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Judge closes cases related to Comair crash in Ky.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A federal judge has closed the last lawsuit stemming from the
August 2006 crash of a Comair regional jet in Lexington.
U.S. District Judge Karl Forester ordered Thursday that $7.1 million in compensatory
damages and $750,000 for pain and suffering be divided among the survivors of Bryan
Keith Woodward, a Louisiana man killed in the wreck.
Forester's decision comes a week after he foreclosed Woodward's family from pursuing
punitive damages, saying Comair couldn't be punished under Kentucky's wrongful death
law for the behavior of the pilots.
Woodward was aboard Comair 5191 when it crashed on Aug. 27, 2006, into a field near
Blue Grass Airport, killing 49 people. Co-pilot James Polehinke survived.
The remainder of the dozens of lawsuits stemming from the crash have been settled.
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Nigerian AIB signs $5m contract for accident investigation laboratory
NIGERIA'S effort to ensure safety in air transportation got a boost yesterday as the
Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) wrapped up a deal with a Canadian firm - the CAE /
Flightscope for the purchase of laboratory equipment to analyse flight data information.
The contractual agreement for the $5 million contract was signed by the parties at the
Conference Hall of AIB, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, (MMIA), Lagos.
Speaking on the occasion, the Commissioner/ Chief Executive Officer of the Bureau,
Samuel Oduselu, informed that the process which led to the signing of the contract began
several months ago with the inspection of the Flightscape facilities in Canada.
He added that the decision to transform the investigation bureau to a world-class accident
investigation agency was approached with the effective capacity building and
infrastructure development.
Oduselu, who said the agency have strong ties with reputable organisations in other
parts of the world where it decoded flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders
popularly known as Black Box recovered from scenes of air crashes in Nigeria, affirmed
that with the signing of the contract for the laboratory, the nation would soon put an end
to wasting its hard-earned resources on having to take the Black Boxes abroad for
decoding and information analyses before any pre-air crash.
Oduselu said the laboratory, which was modeled directly after world-renowned TSB
Canada laboratory, when completed, would improve the agency's ability to advance
aviation safety and to meet its obligations as an ICAO Annex 13 signatory.
http://www.compassnewspaper.com/
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Grounding unlikely for Bombardiers
Though a link between Air Nelson's two aircraft nose-wheel failures within six months has
not been discounted, neither the airline nor the Civil Aviation Authority has contemplated
a grounding of the 23-plane Bombardier Q300 fleet.
Air accident investigators, engineers from Air Nelson and a representative of the Canadian
manufacturer, Bombardier, were studying the plane which crash-landed at Blenheim on
Wednesday after the nose wheel failed to deploy. A similar incident caused a different Air
Nelson Bombardier Q300, also known as a Dash 8, to land on its nose in September. No-
one was hurt in either emergency.
Air Nelson's parent, Air New Zealand, said yesterday that the preliminary investigation
had found no linkage in the cause of the two failures. This was echoed by Civil Aviation
Authority spokesman Bill Sommer, who said it quickly became apparent from the airline
that "the cause appears to be quite a different cause from what happened last time".
"In other words, this is not a fleet problem," Mr Sommer said.
But Transport Accident Investigation Commission chief investigator Tim Burfoot said it was
too early to say if the cause was the same.
"We don't know at this stage," he said. The causes could be "totally unrelated" but more
work had to be done before that could be established.
"There's still going to be some more engineering inspections to do before we can come up
with any conclusions. It's still early days with this one. We just have to keep digging and
digging."
Mr Burfoot said the investigation into the September failure wasn't finished, with
component test results awaited. It could be up to a year before the report on this week's
incident was ready.
However, if investigators found anything they considered a risk to the fleet that needed
urgent attention the TAIC would immediately alert CAA.
The damaged plane was flown to Air Nelson's engineering base at Nelson Airport last
night after a special permit was issued by CAA.
Mr Sommer said the authority did not see the two incidents as being cause for any
restrictions on the Q300 fleet.
"If we had safety concerns, we'd take action." He said Air New Zealand or Air Nelson could
ground the fleet themselves "but I'd be shocked if they did".
Bob Schmuke, a Nelson resident who retired after 35 years as a commercial pilot, said
that because the Q300 had high wings and did not land at high speed, he did not think
the two incidents were "a huge concern".
"It's controllable, and the props don't hit the ground," he said. "As soon as that starts
happening, things fly off, the cabin gets punctured and the whole thing. What is a
concern is that Air Nelson doesn't seem to have been able to fix the problem."
Ad Feedback It could be two different things, Mr Schmuke said, but "it would be of
concern to the manufacturer and Air Nelson that those two things happened".
Air Nelson general manager Grant Kerr did not return calls from the Nelson Mail
yesterday or in time for today's paper.
Bombardier did not respond to questions submitted by the Mail, but spokeswoman
Marianella de la Barrera told the Montreal Gazette: "In relation to previous incidents, all I
can say is that the design and manufacturing of the landing gear for the Q300 ... and all
our other aircraft, are designed to be robust and reliable."
The newspaper said the incident was the latest in a growing list of landing-gear collapses
that have plagued Bombardier planes, including two others, one in New York and one in
Wisconsin, within five days of the Blenheim crash-landing, and at least five in Japan and
Europe in 2007. No deaths or serious injuries resulted, it reported.
There are 1000 Bombardier turboprops in service worldwide, operated by 100 airlines.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/4646242/Grounding-unlikely-for-Bombardiers
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Man tried to smuggle dozens of rare creatures in suitcases, group says
An Indonesian man is arrested at an airport in Thailand, a wildlife monitoring group says
He had three suitcases stuffed with rare creatures, Traffic says
There were tortoises, lizards, spiders and a parrot in his luggage, it says
(CNN) -- An alleged would-be smuggler was caught at a Thailand airport with dozens of
rare wildlife -- including snakes, squirrels and tortoises -- stuffed into three suitcases, a
wildlife monitoring organization says.
The Indonesian man, whose name was not released, was stopped at Suvarnabhumi
International Airport on Wednesday, according to a news release from Traffic, an
organization that fights wildlife trafficking.
The man had purchased the wildlife at Bangkok's Chatuchak Market and was attempting
to smuggle them out of the country, the organization said. He was stopped after a regular
luggage scan revealed the animals.
According to the organization, the man carried 88 Indian star tortoises, 33 elongated
tortoises, seven radiated tortoises, six mata mata turtles and four Southeast Asian
narrow-headed softshell turtles. He also had three Aldabra tortoises, one pig-nosed turtle,
and one ploughshare tortoise, which Traffic described as the world's rarest tortoise.
But that wasn't all that the man stuffed into his luggage. Authorities also found 34 ball
pythons, two boa constrictors, several milk snakes, corn snakes and king snakes and one
hog-nosed snake, Traffic says.
According to the organization, there also were 19 bearded dragon lizards, four spiny-
tailed lizards, two Sudan plated lizards and six Argentine horned frogs.
And, to top it off, there were 18 baboon spiders, 22 common squirrels and one African
grey parrot inside the suitcases, Traffic says.
"It speaks well of a few alert enforcement authorities when such seizures happen, said the
organization's regional director, William Schaedla. "The airport authority is to be
commended. However, one really has to question how Chatuchak Market, which is located
just down the street from both wildlife protection and nature crime police offices, can
continue these illegal mass sales."
Chatuchak Market is known for being a hub for the illegal trade of rare species, Traffic
contends.
"Frankly, the situation is totally unacceptable in a country that claims to be effectively
addressing illegal wildlife trade," Schaedla said.
The man, who was taken into custody, faces wildlife smuggling charges, the organization
said.
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Investigations into the Cork airport crash under way
The aircraft had two crew and 10 passengers on board
'Controllers couldn't see site'
(BBC) Investigations are under way into the crash that killed six people at Cork Airport on
Thursday morning.
The wreckage of the Manx2 plane remains at Cork on Friday morning as air accident
investigators try to find out precisely what went wrong.
Two flight recorders have already been removed from the scene.
The plane, which was travelling from Belfast, came down in thick fog and burst into
flames. Six people died and six were injured.
Air accident investigator with the Irish Department of Transport, Paddy Judge, said they
hoped to reconstruct the events surrounding the plane crash by accessing information
from the aircraft's black box.
The flight was scheduled to depart Belfast at 0750 GMT and eventually left at 0812 GMT.
It was due to land in Cork at 0910 GMT.
The plane first attempted to land from a southerly direction on Cork's main runway,
known as Runway 17. This was aborted due to low visibility.
It then tried to land on the opposite, northerly, approach to the main runway - known as
Runway 35. The Aviation Authority says it is believed wind was not a problem, but the
pilot was still unhappy with visibility.
The plane went into a holding position for 20 minutes, before making a third attempt to
land on the southerly approach to the main runway.
At 0940 GMT, the plane was 10 miles out from the airport. At 0950 GMT, the plane hit
the ground at what is called the 'western threshold' of the runway. Eye witnesses
reported hearing a loud bang.
It is understood the plane flipped over on landing and caught fire.
The names of three people killed in the accident were released on Friday
Brendan McAleese, a cousin of Irish president, Mary McAleese's husband, was killed in the
crash.
Pat Cullinan, originally from Omagh, County Tyrone, and a partner in accountancy firm
KPMG in Belfast. A third victim, Captain Michael Evans, was a deputy harbour
commissioner in Belfast.
Captain Michael Evans was the deputy harbour commissioner in Belfast Irish, British and
Spanish passport-holders were on board the aircraft which was flying between the two
cities as part of a scheduled daily service. All their families have been informed.
The identity of the three other passengers killed is likely to be released by Irish police on
Friday.
The six injured are being treated at Cork University Hospital.
Dr Gerry McCarthy, head of emergency medicine at Cork University Hospital, said two
people are in intensive care with chest, abdomenal and spinal injuries.
Two people remain in a serious condition, while the other two are described as doing
"well".
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NASA's Bolden Touts Commercial Space at FAA Space Commercialization Conference
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden appeared at the FAA Space Commercialization
Conference taking place in Washington to tout the space agency's commercial space
initiatives, particularly the outsourcing of the transportation of cargo and crew to the ISS.
Bolden was very blunt about how NASA will be dependent on others once the space
shuttle fleet is retired this year. "We cannot survive without you," he told the Conference
attendees.
Under the Obama administration, the Bush era Commercial Orbital Transportation
Systems program has been greatly expanded, with six billion dollars in subsidies and
other support for commercial space firms developing low Earth orbit space craft. Until
commercial space craft are available, American astronauts will travel to and from the
International Space Station on Russian Soyuz space craft.
The Obama space commercialization program has proven to be quite controversial,
especially with the Congress. Some members of Congress have questioned whether the
commercial sector will be up to the job of providing America access to space in a safe, cost
effective manner. This is a key question, considering that the Obama administration has
canceled the Constellation program, which eliminates the "public option" of the Orion/Ares
1 vehicle that was to be a backup plan in case the commercial sector could not step up.
Charles Bolden was reported to have told Apollo astronaut Gene Cernan that he would
provide a bailout for commercial space firms "equal to that given the auto industry" if the
private sector faltered in providing space transportation services. Bolden later issued a
non denial denial of Cernan's account.
This raises the question of in what sense is the Obama program "commercial." Under the
Bush era COTS program, the consequences for failure were that a commercial company
would be out of the program. Originally a company called Rocket Plane/Kistler was part of
COTS. But because RP/Kistler could not meet milestones, it was replaced by another
company called Orbital Systems.
But under the Obama plan, the only consequences for failure would be more money
pumped into the commercial companies that are developing private space craft. With the
demise of Constellation, companies competing for ISS servicing contracts have become
too important to fail.
So far this virtual guarantee of money has not had much of an effect on the performance
of companies in the commercial space program. Recently, SpaceX successfully orbited,
reentered, and landed on the ocean a prototype of its Dragon space craft.
In the meantime, a group calling itself the Competitive Space Task Force recently held a
press conference in Washington to demand that the Obama administration do more to
support commercial space. The proposed measures include accelerating the Obama
commercial space program to create commercial crew and cargo systems to access ISS,
opening up the American part of the ISS to commercial participation, and using fixed-
price, pay-for-performance contracts to reward private investment and innovation in
human exploration and spaceflight projects.
In the meantime, the Obama commercial space program still faces skepticism in the
Congress.One report suggests that Republicans are looking at cutting the program from
six billion dollars to three billion dollars.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/
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ERAU Remembers Gen. William Spruance
Saturday, Jan. 15 saw the passing of a great supporter and friend of Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University, Brigade General William Spruance. Gen. Spruance has been with
ERAU since 1972, serving as chairman of the board of trustees until 1987, when he
became chairman emeritus.
A graduate of Princeton University, Gen. Spruance served in the Army Air Corps during
World War II, flying supplies over the Himalayas. After the war, he would become a
founding member of the Delaware Air National Guard.
In 1961, Gen. Spruance suffered a near fatal T-33 crash. After this experience, Gen.
Spruance would become one of the leading advocates of aviation safety, traveling around
the nation to deliver presentations on flight safety and crash survival, using his own
personal experience as an example.
One of the many people who attended his presentations was Colonel Fred Cone. Col. Cone
met Gen. Spruance during a presentation he held in the Davis Learning Center in 1989,
where Gen. Spruance was talking about a young man who had survived an aircraft
accident. The man involved in said accident in 1967 was Col. Cone, and he survived the
resulting fire in large part due to the use of protective clothing and safety measures that
had been advocated by Gen. Spruance.
To Col. Cone, Gen. Spruance was a role model, a frank and honest person, who was
dedicated to the promotion of aviation safety, and a very generous man-one who gave
freely of his time and money, whether it was for a presentation or for a scholarship fund.
Among his many contributions are the Spruance House and a scholarship fund for the
Golden Eagles Flight Team.
Gen. Spruance was also a very strong supporter of the ERAU Air Force ROTC program,
contributing thousands of dollars a year. This money would be used to the benefit of
dozens of cadets. Gen. Spruance saw this as an investment in the future of the nation
and the Air Force by assisting young people with potential to develop into great leaders.
The respect that he had could be seen in the board of trustees, who pledged to match his
contributions to the school, dollar for dollar.
Gen. Spruance was a man committed to his country and dedicated to the cause of
aviation safety, and a great benefactor of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University who
served with the University for nearly 40 years. He will be missed.
Gen. Spruance is survived by two sons, William (ERAU, 1969) and Thomas, and four
grandchildren, Elizabeth, Nicole, Chelsea, and Preston. In lieu of flowers, the family asks
that contributions be made to the Air Force Association, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University, and the National Guard Educational Foundation. At Gen. Spruance's request,
no formal services will be held.
http://media.www.eraunews.com/media/storage/paper917/news/2011/02/09/News/Erau
-Remembers.Gen.William.Spruance-3975876.shtml
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Qantas to launch study into algae-based fuel
Qantas Airways has signed a contract with US-based renewable energy company
Solazyme to study the sustainability of algae-based aviation fuel.
Under the agreement, Qantas and Solazyme will work together for the next 12 months to
develop a business case for the introduction of the fuel technology in Australia, says the
Oneworld carrier.
Qantas also has a similar arrangement with Washington DC-based Solena group for
waste-based sustainable fuel.
The agreements are part of a review of clean fuel technology being carried out by Qantas
as it seeks to identify partners in this area.
"The costs and environmental impacts associated with traditional jet fuel mean it is
imperative that we push hard now for the commercialisation of alternative fuel sources,"
says Qantas CEO Alan Joyce.
"Qantas will be assessing the feasibility of each of these technologies against stringent
commercial and sustainability criteria."
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
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Boeing boss green-lights all-new next generation narrowbody
Boeing CEO Jim McNerney has given a rhetorical green light to replace the venerable 737,
announcing the airframer intends to build a new aircraft to eclipse the re-engined Airbus
A320neo, with a service entry around 2020.
Speaking at the Cowen and Company Aerospace and Defense Conference in New York
City, McNerney says: "We're gonna do a new airplane. We're not done evaluating this
whole situation yet, but our current bias is to not re-engine, is to move to an all-new
airplane at the end of the decade, or the beginning of the next decade."
Boeing has continuously given small hints about its future plans, and McNerney's
comments leave little ambiguity that a clean sheet design is in the company's future. But
Boeing is officially seeking to temper his comments, saying a 737 replacement is "not a
done deal" and is "still being evaluated".
Even though McNerney says entry into service could come earlier than 2020, the
convergence of customer demand for a new aircraft, propulsion, systems and fuselage
technology, as well as supply chain readiness, fits an end-of-decade first delivery.
McNerney suggests that the A320neo has put pressure on the smaller Bombardier
CSeries, which shares a common power plant in the Pratt & Whitney PW1000G geared
turbofan platform. While Airbus has focused on its existing customer base McNerney sees
a looming threat to the 737: "That doesn't mean that as [Airbus gets] deeper in the
development they're not going to approach our customer base. I think they will."
Airbus aims to deliver the first A320neo to launch customer Virgin America in 2016, with a
yet undecided engine type. The carrier, in addition to the PW1100G, has a choice of the
CFM Leap-X.
Boeing has three potential engines at its disposal for its new narrowbody including the
current next-generation offerings from CFM and Pratt & Whitney, as well as the Rolls-
Royce 133-445kN (30,000-100,000lb) thrust Advance3 future three-shaft Trent
powerplant, which is currently in development and slated for a 2017 or 2018 entry into
service.
"We're going to be talking to our customers concretely over the next year or two, very
concretely," says McNerney. "I think in part because the re-engined Airbus airplane is out
there. We're going to have more concrete discussions a little earlier, I think our customers
are going to demand it and we will do it."
While there is a risk to Boeing in firming up plans for a new aircraft nearly eight years in
advance of a service entry, McNerney believes that "customers are going to wait for this
airplane, in part because they're going to know what it looks like over the next 18
months".
Yet Boeing's chief does admit that the A320neo, "on paper closes the value gap that we
have enjoyed on a typical cash on cash analysis, we tend to do better. And I think part of
the rationale of the neo is to close that gap. Now, will that put some pressure on our
margins? Yes. maybe, but they've got to complete the development".
McNerney adds: "It's our judgment that our customers will wait for us, rather than move
to an airplane that will obsolete itself when [Airbus develops] a new airplane. I
understand why they're doing [the neo], we haven't seen the need for it yet. I feel pretty
comfortable we can defend our customer base, both because they're not going ahead of
us, they're catching up to us, and because we're going to be doing a new airplane that
will go beyond the capability of what the neo can do."
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP
CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC